SEOUL, South Korea — Even after setting a record high profit, Samsung Electronics disappointed investors who increasingly doubt its mainstay smartphone business can maintain rapid growth.
Samsung Electronics Co. on Friday estimated its April-June operating profit at a record high of 9.5 trillion won ($8.3 billion). That is a 47 percent jump from a year earlier and 8 percent growth from the previous quarter.
But it fell short of forecasts by analysts who held higher expectation for the world’s largest smartphone maker.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet, a financial data provider, forecast operating income of 10.2 trillion won on average. Samsung shares dropped nearly 4 percent in Seoul.
Samsung said sales grew 20 percent to 57 trillion won ($50 billion).
Sales of the latest iteration of Samsung’s flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4, hit 10 million units in May, less than a month since its debut. Sales of the S4 hit the 10 million mark about 20 days faster than the previous model.
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Analysts say high marketing costs probably weighed on Samsung’s mobile business despite the robust sales in the first month.
The South Korean company will announce net income and details of quarterly financial results later this month.
